Overview
Cycles are the temporal phenomenon Jorhan created with two spiral shards to trap Xalmyrra in repeating versions of its history for millennia. They isolate the region behind storms and a veil, repeat events with variations, reset people drawn into the region, and leave some people carrying memories from multiple versions of events. The Xalmyrran cycles drive Deylin's and Thalena's collapse-held blink crossings, Eira's shard-triggered cataclysm, Hrzai's long guard over the land, Belanor's centuries of movement between Atraxis Prime and Xalmyrra, and Xol'Zahir's control over the storms and veil.
Mechanics
Jorhan uses two spiral shards: one for the storms and veil around Xalmyrra, and one for the cycles that reset the region. Under his control, history repeats with small changes and variations.
Cycle travel is possible through blinking at the moment a cycle collapses. The traveler must hold the blink long enough to outlast the reset. Deylin survives this method in the dying cycle where he first reaches Xalmyrra, later carries Cassian through it, and arrives in an empty Xalmyrra two cycles before Eira takes Xol'Zahir's shard. He moves into the cycle where he meets Ilyra and Eira is born, then continues into the next cycle, where Eira enters the Temple of no Return. Thalena uses the same collapse-held blink to reach Xalmyrra-11.
Memory and continuity follow several rules. People drawn into Xalmyrra usually reset with the region. Successful cycle travelers continue across versions, carried travelers can lose years or regress physically, and later cycle collisions or altered events can leave people with dual, divergent, or near-linear memories of multiple versions of events.
History
Ancient Xalmyrra becomes trapped in Jorhan's cycles after the atraxi settlement collapses and Jorhan emerges with two spiral shards, including Aldred Behn's shard. Belanor spends centuries moving between Atraxis Prime and Xalmyrra, losing count of complete cycles. Hrzai guards the land and searches for someone able to defeat Jorhan and the darkness.
Thalena reaches Xalmyrra-10 by following Deylin's Earth timerift and shifting the crossing into the next cycle. She and Hrzai preserve the path that leads through Deylin, Eira, Cassian, and the final attack on Jorhan. Kaldramir starts the War of Scars twice after learning the truth: first from Belanor, and later from Thalena.
Eira taking Xol'Zahir's shard causes a previous cycle to crash into the new one, bringing the cataclysm. Thalena's final push against Jorhan ends his control, breaks the Xalmyrran cycles, and frees Xalmyrra from its isolation.
Later Uses
After the Xalmyrran cycles break, Aldar uses a spiral shard to recreate a smaller cycle and veil over Cyndarel. The spell boxes Raphael's coalition inside the city, combines dense darkness with storm and veil effects, blocks outside entry, and risks memory loss even for shard wielders who try to cross it. Its smaller size allows the effect to become dangerously concentrated. Aldar lacks Jorhan's full spell knowledge and loses predictive control over some consequences. The Cyndarel veil is a gamble for both sides: Aldar stakes the Battle for Cyndarel on the veil holding, and Raphael fights under Aldar's partial control of the effect.